Hey y’all! Gosh, it’s been awhile. My summer has been really busy and hectic, but it’s finally starting to slow down a little bit. I just got back from a two week trip to Montana and Wyoming and the leaves are already changing up there. Football is back on the television and pumpkin-spiced everything is showing up in stores and on menus. That must mean fall has arrived. While I’m going to continue working through November, my trips will be more spread out and I’ll have a little bit more time to catch up with you guys and on some of my other projects. It’s been a busy summer, but a good one and it’s taken me to beautiful places with wonderful people.
When last I wrote, I was on my way to Northern California for a reunion with a bunch of my old tour guiding friends. It was a truly magical 5 days in the redwoods in a beautiful, secluded, private camp with a hundred really wonderful people. Some were old friends I haven’t seen in 20 years while others I knew only by reputation. We laughed a lot and shared stories of our similar but vastly different experiences on the roads of North America (and beyond, for some). It’s been rare that I’ve felt so much a part of something, and my 20 years of involvement with the company meant I could bridge a lot of gaps and fill in a lot of missing chapters to the story. The founders of the company were there, and they shared their story about the humble beginnings of TrekAmerica way back in 1972. It was fascinating to hear how it all began, and we had tour guides there from every season from the very start to the very end, when the company closed its doors during the pandemic. I’m glad we had a full five days out there as a weekend just wouldn’t have been enough.
I took an extra day after the reunion to make my way back down the coast and be sure that Shadow Catcher put some miles on. She handled like a dream and it was nice to be driving her down the Pacific coast. As far as I know, it was the first time she’d seen the Pacific and it meant that after 5 years we had finally made it all the way across the country together from sea to shining sea.
After the reunion, I returned to San Francisco and ran a quick little tour out to Yosemite. While on the trail, I ran into two friends I had taken on tour way back in 2015. It was great to see them and to catch up for a few minutes and reminisce about our trip together.
My next trip was an enjoyable San Francisco/Yosemite/Lake Tahoe combination with a fun group of British passengers in their 30s and 40s. The trip included a full day of sightseeing in the city, a great sunset cruise on Lake Tahoe and a stand-up paddleboard lesson
